Franchise Charter system favors the big boys of NASCAR
Of course, few of those teams stand a chance at any track against the powerhouse teams of Sprint Cup. Sorry as it would seem, failure to run well in NASCAR's premier series is part of their expectations.
It's the big boys of stock car racing that make out best under the system announced Tuesday. A few of the little guys got crumbs from the table as NASCAR let its strongest operations feast.
It's a good time to have power — especially since teams without charters now will contend for fewer available slots each week. Sprint Cup's race fields lose three cars, down to 40, while setting up weekly runs for 36 charter cars.
Not everything is shiny, but there's enough wiggle room in the charter system to make allowance. Prime example: Michael Waltrip Racing, which went out of business after the 2015 season, was granted two charter slots. Rules allow the defunct operation to sell its slots, and Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing rushed in to take advantage.
Which is cool, because there's an open market for charters. Or was, at least.
The only real question should be this: Will Sprint Cup racing be better under the charter accord? That we'll find out on the track.
A few other tidbits:
Just as NASCAR can giveth, NASCAR can taketh away. According to its rules: "Charter teams are held to a minimum performance standard. If a charter team finishes in the bottom three of the owner standings among all 36 charter teams for three consecutive years, NASCAR has a right to remove the charter."
So forget the start-and-park ploy, and have those cars able to run with the big boys week after week. There's incentive to do well, and implicitly for the less fortunate to outperform cars that hold a golden ticket.
Which is why Gibbs got three slots and had to buy one for Carl Edwards and the No. 19 car. Edwards came over to Gibbs last season, so he didn't make the three-year mandate.
Neither did Kurt Busch, who ran for Stewart-Haas for the first time last season. Ergo, SHR had to pony up cash for the second Waltrip charter slot to get Busch and the No. 41 into the field each week.
Edwards and Busch both made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2015.
Back-marker teams that showed up every week were rewarded for their persistence. HScott Racing got a charter slot for Clint Bowyer's No. 15. Go Fas Racing will put Jeffrey Earnhardt in the field every week. Ditto for Germain Racing with Casey Mears, and Tommy Baldwin Racing with Regan Smith.
Other teams weren't so lucky. There was an outpouring of sentiment for Wood Brothers Racing, for example, but the legendary operation hadn't run a car full time since 2008. It will this year with rising driver Ryan Blaney, who must qualify each week.
Yes, there will be qualifying — because the 40-car field needs to be set by speeds (when rain or a plague of frogs doesn't interfere). The four fastest cars outside the magic 36 will race. The others will get a free trip back home.
Learn the term "open car." That's what NASCAR calls cars without charter guarantees. Example: Cole Whitt and the No. 98 car of Premium Motorsports.
Four: That's the maximum number of cars per team per race. There will no longer be exemptions that allow a team to get a rookie into a race or two. Example: Hendrick Motorsports dug up a fifth car last year for Chase Elliott. No can do any longer.
Owners, according to NASCAR, can transfer their charter to another team, for one full season, once over the first five years of the agreement.
And in case you were wondering, the charter scheme is for nine years. Ray Slover/Sporting News